enlarged spleen

[Guest guest]

Connie,

The enlarged spleen, I was told because the Liver was not functioning fully.

http://www.medcohealth.com/medco/ go there and search for Splenomegaly.

Splenomegaly

Source: A.D.A.M., Inc.Updated: May 2005

Definition

Splenomegaly is an enlargement of the spleen beyond its normal size.

ConsiderationsThe spleen is an organ involved in the production and maintenance of red blood cells, the production of certain circulating white blood cells, and is a part of the lymph system and the immune system.Because of its wide variety of functions, the spleen may be affected by many conditions involving the blood or lymph system, and by infection, malignancies, liver disease, and parasites.

Call your health care provider if

Although often there are no symptoms from an enlarged spleen, you may experience pain in the left upper section of your abdomen. If you do, especially if it is severe or gets worse when you take a deep breath, you should seek attention from your doctor right away.

Other symptoms that you may experience and warrant a call or visit to your doctor depend on the underlying cause of the enlarged spleen. Refer to articles of topics mentioned in the Causes section above for additional information.

There are photos at above link. But since most of you get this in Digest Form - go to the link and search.

To give you an example of my experience - my spleen was so large my first MRI in '93 the doctor said that my left ovary must have been removed because they could not find it. A normal spleen is the size of two thumbs approx. and lies underneath your last rib on the left side. (My left ovary was not removed, the spleen was on top of it).

It can be very painful.

As for your blood being thin. The enlarged spleen gobbles up your white blood cells and platelets, which deal with the thinning blood which could cause you to bleed easily when you are cut or injured. So be careful when cooking and using knives.

Yes, it was told to me and I know for a fact from other transplant patients that it will/can go down with a liver transplant or if your liver function increases.

Great on the fact that your liver numbers are normal. If you are taking URSO that will help.

Ask again, if I have not made myself clear. I am very sleep deprived and get confused easily and I have re-occurent PBC and AIH crossover. But I was transplanted 10 years ago and still going.

Jo Lynne

[Guest guest]

Connie, your post this AM really interested me. I am having the same problem. In fact, today, I am going to a hematologist

for a consult. My blood is all

strange. According to the liver

specialist I saw, I am too fat to palpate any organ so I don’t know if I

have an enlarged spleen, but he wanted my GI to have me see this new doctor. I am bruising and bleeding easily. It takes a bit of time to stop bleeding

when I stick myself. Yesterday I

worked in the rose bed and have plenty of scratches and thorns to deal with,

but eventually they all stopped bleeding.

Anyway, I will be interested to see what your doctors

says about your symptoms.

Debby

[ ] enlarged

spleen

Lo Lynne

On my last sonigram my spleen was enlarged

slightly, what causes this

and will the swelling go down or continue to

enlarge? I also had my 2

week blood work done today and all my liver test

were normal except my

blood is thin. Is this a problem?

[Guest guest]

For what it's worth -- when my daughter was diagnosed with AIH in Feb. 2001, we were first clued into it by her enormous spleen -- it was more than three times the size of a normal kid's spleen. She was stage 4, extreme cirrhosis, ALTs and ASTs in the thousands. As soon as they "nuked" her with prednisone, her spleen shrank down. It is just a a reaction when the liver is nearly shot, or working too hard. A small amount of enlargement is natural, I bet -- hers was extreme, and I think people should take heart that she is now drug-free and in remission, pronounced so by Dr. Alber Cjaza at the Minnesota Mayo Clinic.

Good luck, everyone!

oxox

Crimmins

[Guest guest]

" ecsock1 " <jeffnlisaky@...> wrote:

> Has anyone had troubles with an enlarged spleen

> as a result of taking

> iodoral? I started taking iodoral about

> a year ago on the advice from

> Dr. Flechas. He did a phone appt. with me,

> and had me send in a 24hour

> iodine load test. He concluded that I should take

> two pills in the

> morning and two pills at night due to my body's

> need for iodine.

>

> I had no idea that I should build up the amounts

> I take and just went

> right to his full suggested dosage along with

> taking 3,000 mg of vit. c

> per day as he told me to do. It didn't take long

> to start getting

> sick. The pain and bloatedness that I felt

> in my left side must have

> been an enlarged spleen. I started getting

> stomach aches and threw

> up. At that point I stopped taking iodoral.

> I also got a painful

> functional ovarian cyst (determined by my ob-gyn).

> And, not too long

> after, I got a severe urinary tract infection.

> I thought this all

> might be due to my body flushing out toxins.

> So, after going off the

> medication for some time, I tried to start back

> SLOWLY by taking just

> 1/2 pill in morning and at night. However,

> uti's returned and my

> spleen is still slightly enlarged. I go to an

> excellent vitamin

> specialist MD and he noticed that my spleen

> is slightly enlarged. And,

> I can still tell it is.

> I have totally discontinued iodoral. I am worried

> that this spleen

> condition will not subside. I have been totally

> off of iodoral for 4

> months now. Help! Any advice??

>

>

Hi , there are many causes of enlarged spleen, mononucleosis

being one of the most common. Sometimes there are other odd

infections, some mono-like, that go on for months that are never

identified and then subside. I had one of those once myself once.

There are also more serious things like lymphoproliferative

disorders, etc etc. Very high iodine sometimes invokes a

Wolff-Chaikoff effect where the body cuts thyroid levels

to protect from thyroid overproduction due to high iodine, in

which case one might be more susceptible to all manner of

infection viral/bacterial/fungal. You may want to check

further with your doctor about possible infection or any other

tests they may want to run in regard to enlarged spleen.

Have you had any thyroid testing done before or after the Iodoral?

If so, what were your lab results and ref ranges used? I feel

a TSH over 2.0 predisposes to infection. Did you have any

cortisol testing before/after the Iodoral? Both too high and

too low cortisol can predispose to infection.

Carol

willis_protocols

my article archive in Files. Blog. Links. Not a discussion group.

[Guest guest]

> > Has anyone had troubles with an enlarged spleen

> > as a result of taking

> > iodoral? I started taking iodoral about

> > a year ago on the advice from

> > Dr. Flechas. He did a phone appt. with me,

> > and had me send in a 24hour

> > iodine load test. He concluded that I should take

> > two pills in the

> > morning and two pills at night due to my body's

> > need for iodine.

> >

> > I had no idea that I should build up the amounts

> > I take and just went

> > right to his full suggested dosage along with

> > taking 3,000 mg of vit. c

> > per day as he told me to do. It didn't take long

> > to start getting

> > sick. The pain and bloatedness that I felt

> > in my left side must have

> > been an enlarged spleen. I started getting

> > stomach aches and threw

> > up. At that point I stopped taking iodoral.

> > I also got a painful

> > functional ovarian cyst (determined by my ob-gyn).

> > And, not too long

> > after, I got a severe urinary tract infection.

> > I thought this all

> > might be due to my body flushing out toxins.

> > So, after going off the

> > medication for some time, I tried to start back

> > SLOWLY by taking just

> > 1/2 pill in morning and at night. However,

> > uti's returned and my

> > spleen is still slightly enlarged. I go to an

> > excellent vitamin

> > specialist MD and he noticed that my spleen

> > is slightly enlarged. And,

> > I can still tell it is.

>

> > I have totally discontinued iodoral. I am worried

> > that this spleen

> > condition will not subside. I have been totally

> > off of iodoral for 4

> > months now. Help! Any advice??

> >

> >

>

> Hi , there are many causes of enlarged spleen, mononucleosis

> being one of the most common. Sometimes there are other odd

> infections, some mono-like, that go on for months that are never

> identified and then subside. I had one of those once myself once.

> There are also more serious things like lymphoproliferative

> disorders, etc etc. Very high iodine sometimes invokes a

> Wolff-Chaikoff effect where the body cuts thyroid levels

> to protect from thyroid overproduction due to high iodine, in

> which case one might be more susceptible to all manner of

> infection viral/bacterial/fungal. You may want to check

> further with your doctor about possible infection or any other

> tests they may want to run in regard to enlarged spleen.

>

> Have you had any thyroid testing done before or after the Iodoral?

> If so, what were your lab results and ref ranges used? I feel

> a TSH over 2.0 predisposes to infection. Did you have any

> cortisol testing before/after the Iodoral? Both too high and

> too low cortisol can predispose to infection.

>

> Carol

> willis_protocols

> my article archive in Files. Blog. Links. Not a discussion group.

>Carol,

Thanks for all of the info. I have to admit that I was very slack on

getting any thyroid panels done before. My nutrition Dr. did run a

panel on my thyroid, along with many, many other tests. I don't

recall any specific numbers. I believe they were somewhat normal.

I have been doing some research since I wrote my first message, and

I'm wondering if iodoral can induce secondary immune hemolytic

anemia. This is a condition where a drug or toxin can induce your

spleen to destroy red blood cells due to antibodies which stick to

the cells and cause the body to react, leading to the destruction of

the cell. I do recall the nurse saying that I have mild anemia. I

really hope this isn't due to an immune hemolytic anemia condition,

because I don't know of a cure for that condition.